Levi Colwill has explained how Chelsea must approach Sunday’s fixture at Nottingham Forest and what impact the significance of the game will have on the way it plays out.
The Blues travel to the City Ground knowing victory will almost certainly guarantee us at least fifth place in the Premier League table. The reward for that is a spot in next season’s Champions League.
Nottingham Forest are one of the other teams with the same ambition. They know if they beat Chelsea and Aston Villa fail to win at Old Trafford, they will jump above both teams. That’s irrespective of how other contenders Manchester City and Newcastle United get on.
Colwill, assured on the pitch and eloquent off it, is clear about what is required.
‘We need to stay calm and treat it as any other game of the season,’ the defender tells us at Cobham.
‘First of all, we have to prepare the best we can in training. That’s the most important thing this week. We know we have two huge games to finish the season, and we have to focus game by game.
‘When we get to Sunday, we have to believe in ourselves. If we believe in each other, we can definitely win there.’
To do so, we must get the better of one of the season’s surprise packages. Several pundits tipped Forest for relegation back in August, but they have confounded those expectations and some.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have been in a European position for most of the campaign, and the City Ground has been a testing stadium for most: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa have all failed to win there.
There is evidently plenty on the line. Colwill is prepared for the challenge that awaits.
‘It is effectively a final,’ the 22-year-old acknowledges.
'It will be a tough game, a tough atmosphere, but we know what we need to do. They are going to be a tough team to play against. We are going to have to work really hard to break them down, but when we do create chances we have to score them, and not give them any chance to counter-attack.
‘They are going to push harder than they might normally because they have to win too, and we have to be smart and pick our moments when to exploit that, and times when to sit off and let them give us what they've got. We just have to find the balance to make sure we win the game.’